A great area for birding in southern Arizona: the little town of Patagonia. Paton Center for Hummingbirds, Patagonia Lake State Park, Borderlands Wildlife Preserve, etc. And here, The Nature Conservancy’s Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, a beautiful parcel of mixed woodland and grassland centered along a permanently-flowing section of Sonoita Creek.
Great spot for local mammals (e.g., deer and javelina/peccary both seen), insects, flowers, plants, and plenty of birds like Gray Hawk. (Gray Hawk spotted several times on this outing; sadly, no good pictures.)
Lots of beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail (a.k.a. Blue Swallowtail)(Battus philenor):
Probably Dusky-capped Flycatcher:
More hawk/tree @ Cooper’s Hawk:
Bird of the day (besides Gray Hawk), the lovely not-a-parrot Western Tanager (m):
Broad-billed Hummingbird adjacent feeders at the visitors’ center (‘cheating mode’ – feeders cropped out):
Highly recommend a visit; closed on Mon/Tues. Entrance fee required with discount for TNC members.
No affiliation, but please consider supporting The Nature Conservancy and its important mission + great spots like this.